CT considers kindergarten entry age law

Associated Press

Updated: Mar 19, 2011 1:57 PM

With a Dec. 27 birthday, 4-year-old Braden Davis is likely to be the youngest student in his class when he starts kindergarten this fall. But under state law, some of his classmates could be as old as 7.

Connecticut allows one of the largest age ranges for incoming kindergarteners — a span of 2 years that some advocates say is a disadvantage to the younger children and a factor in the achievement gap between students of different backgrounds.

State legislators are moving to narrow that range with proposals that could affect more than 12,000 young children each year.

One piece of legislation seeks to end "red-shirting," the practice of keeping children out of kindergarten until age 7 in hopes they will be among the biggest and best-prepared of their peers. The bill allows exemptions in special circumstances, such as children with developmental delays.

Another proposal, to boost the minimum age by rolling back the fifth-birthday cutoff for enrollment from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1, stalled recently in a legislative committee. But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and several legislators say they still support it.

The swirl of proposals at the state Capitol has left parents like Sheri Davis of Somers questioning whether their children will be able to start kindergarten this fall as expected.

She said her son, Braden, thrives on socializing with older children and being the youngest in his class isn't likely to be an issue.

"I don't think starting kindergarten is only all about age," she said. "I think you have to look at it and say whether your child is ready academically and socially."

Braden is among about 9,600 children turning 5 between the start of school in September and the Jan. 1 cutoff date. Parents of those children can hold them back another year if they wish, and thousands do so each year.

At the higher end of the range, about 3,200 children ages 6 and 7 who could have been in kindergarten last year were voluntarily red-shirted. About 1,200 of them were from the 31 wealthiest of Connecticut's 169 towns, according to state Department of Education figures.

The legislature's education committee recently endorsed the proposal to limit red-shirting, though it would require the full General Assembly's approval before going into effect.

State Sen. Andrea Stillman, a Democrat from Waterford who is co-chairwoman of the committee, said parents could still request an exemption if they feel their child is not ready for kindergarten at 6.

"It's still about a parent knowing their child's abilities, and we're not taking that away from anyone," she said.

State education officials say having children ranging from 4 to 7 in one kindergarten class can make it difficult for teachers to ensure none are falling behind, or becoming bored because they already know what is being taught.

"A great deal of the (Connecticut) achievement gap is represented in an initial 'start' gap for many students," Interim Connecticut Education Commissioner George Coleman said. "You can understand the tremendous cognitive gap between those students."

Malloy said he supports limiting red-shirting and moving up the enrollment birthday deadline.

"Having children more tightly age-grouped at the beginning of their school careers is best for everybody, so no class has a kid who's too far behind or presented with a situation where one is too far ahead," Malloy said.

The initiative to move up the enrollment date stalled over concerns about the cost of adding another year of child care to families who expected their autumn-birthday children to start school at 4.

Some education and children's welfare groups say that, although they support the spirit of the change, the lack of other affordable preschool programs means the delay could hurt rather than help some children, especially low-income children and minorities who already fall behind more affluent peers.

Cyd Oppenheimer, senior policy fellow for Connecticut Voices for Children, said limiting red-shirting is a better way to narrow the age range than rolling back the birthday eligibility.

"Just to hold a child back to give them that extra advantage seems to go against the principle that children start school on equal footing," she said.

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